Thursday, May 16, 2013

Steamed Rice Cakes: Putong Ube, Muscovado, Queso and Pandan

As promised, here are the recipes for the steamed rice cakes. I have had great success with these and I hope you all will too. The procedure for each flavour is basically the same and is only listed in detail with the first recipe. Variations, if any, are indicated in the succeeding recipes.

**Combine coconut milk, evaporated milk, and muscovado sugar in a small saucepan. Place over low heat and mix gently until sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. Set aside to cool before using. Alternatively, put liquids in a microwave-safe container. Heat for about 45 seconds. Stir in the muscovado sugar until it is dissolved.PUTONG QUESO

If you ever get to try these recipes, I would greatly appreciate some feedback. Let me know if you liked it or not and if there is anything else I can do to improve on the recipes. Thank you and enjoy!

Hi Ms.Corinne,I have been dreaming of making these mini putos.i'm so happy that you shared your recipe.just a question po,is double acting baking powder different from the regular baking powder available at coles and woolies?the one i'm using for baking is the Anchor brand.can i find double acting baking powder at coles or woolworths?thank you ms. Corinne

I didn't notice,it's actually written on the label that it is double acting:) l will try your puto recipe as soon as i have all the ingredients.just want to let you know that i have successfully bake your ube,pandan and mocha cake recipes,the Ube cake is always a hit.thank you so much:)

just tried the ube version and they came out perfectly delicious. I am going to try the pandan version next. Although I am not Filipino, have done a number of Filipino recipes on my blog. would love for you to stop by if you have a moment: http://gourmetglobal.blogspot.com

Hi Corrine. Thank you so much for this recipe, bless you!!! I tried it and everyone who ate it gave me an all-thumbs-up seal of approval! Since I couldn't find the double active baking powder, I just used the ordinary baking powder and the puto came out just fine - even great! I haven't tried making the muscovado flavor coz muscovado sugar is not common here. Maybe, one of these days... again, thank you very much! :-)

I tried making cheese puto last weekend and made the mistake of using glutinous rice flour instead of plain rice flour. My puto turned out really sticky (but tasted good) hahaha! I didn't know there were different kinds of rice flour.

This weekend I'm going to try making another batch (but with the right kind of rice flour). Do you think I can make plain puto using the same recipe but without the additional flavoring?

I've eaten tons of puto before but never made it myself. So I tried two different recipes--my boss and I preferred yours. I'm wondering if you've tried this specifically with mochi flour? The first time I made this, I used all rice flour and found the texture more grainy and dense than I wanted. I tried your recipe, but subbed 00 flour for cake flour. Definitely a better texture, but still slightly grainy. I'm wondering if this is because of the grind of rice flour I used or if mochi flour is the way to go? I definitely want to try this again with a different rice flour and see if you had any insight on using different flour blends.

I'm a pastry cook at the Seattle Art Museum and did a modified puto dessert for our tasting menu last week. Here's a picture of the finished product:

I'm wondering why your puto is turning out grainy? Have you been using ground rice or rice flour? I use the very white, fine rice flour and never had that issue. If you don't want to use cake flour with the rice flour, I recommend that you just substitute it with plain or all-purpose flour.

You can perhaps try leaving your puto batter for 30 minutes or so before steaming to allow the rice flour to rehydrate. Maybe it will solve the problem of the puto being grainy?

I am not sure what mochi flour is. Is it the same as glutinous rice flour? If yes, then don't ever use that! Your puto will definitely turn out gummy instead of soft and fluffy.

Thanks for sharing the modified puto dessert you made. Never thought the puto can be presented in such a fancy manner!

Hi Ms. Corrine, these recipe looks yummy! I will try this when I completed the ingredients needed. By the way, I wonder if you know how to make a mocha and chocolate flavored puto? Is it just adding coffee and chocolate to the mixture? Hope you have an idea coz I cant find recipe of these two on the internet.

Hi Corrine,I tried the recipe and went perfect. My family loved it and friends too... I just have some few questions... the ube flavoured puto is heavier than the others is that normal? and the left over puto on the next day they are quite dry is that normal too? thanks! God speed!

It is normal for the ube puto to have a different texture compared to the other varieties but it shouldn't be heavy or dense.

What I notice is that puto made with rice flour tends to be drier than those made with plain flour. From what I know, rice flour takes longer to hydrate. After making up the puto batter, try setting it aside for half an hour or so before steaming to give the rice flour more time to absorb liquid. This might give you better results.

Also, to prevent the puto from drying out quickly, be sure to store them properly in airtight containers.

Personally, I would prefer freshly steamed puto, especially so because puto made with rice flour tend to dry out much faster. If you need to make it a day in advance, keep the puto in an airtight container. Shortly before serving, microwave it for a few seconds to restore its soft texture.

Hi corinne! I made plain white puto using your recipe! It was perfect except it came out lop sided. One side of each puyo was higher. I followed everything even the towel on the lid. I don't know what went wrong. We finished all the puto coz it was soooo yummy i just can't give it out as gifts coz it's uneven. Any advice? Thanks!

Hi po! Your puto looks so yummy! I have questions ms Corrine1. Can i use all purpose flour instead of rice flour?2. Can i use ube jam or ube powder instead of grated ube. OR can i omit the grated ube since ube flavouring is in the ingredients list.3. What is pandan extract? Is that the pandan liquid flavouring?Thank you!

To answer your questions:1. No you can't. First of all, all purpose flour has gluten, rice flour doesn't. If you use APF for this recipe, you will get very tough puto. Secondly, these are steamed rice cakes, so rice is a major ingredient. You cannot omit it.2. I wouldn't recommend substituting. Ube jam already contains sugar and milk and will alter the taste and texture of the puto. Reconstituted ube powder tastes terrible. However, if you can tolerate it, then you can rehydrate the powder according to the instructions in the packet then measure out the amount you need for the recipe.3. You can use the liquid pandan flavouring. If you can find pandan paste (from an oriental or Asian grocery), you can use that too.

Hi,Ms. Corrine! Please share ifyou have the recipe tor Putong Polo. Thanks! Your Muscovado Puto looks similar to it. Will try your recipe. It would be lucky of me if turns out to be the one I've been looking for in ages. Regards!

Ok thnx for your response! I was just thinking maybe an extra drop of food flavouring for added colour instead of food powder for added colour, might affect the recipe..because I cannot find food coloring powder...anyways ty! Im excited to make these with my mom..lol I need her for back up

Hi I am gluten free and I have not found a good gf cake flour substitute. Can i use my regular gf flour instead of the cake flour? Or maybe add xantham gum? I love puto but have not had it because they aren't gf. Any advice is appreciated. :)

The reason I added some cake flour in the recipe was precisely to introduce even a little bit of gluten. I noticed that using all rice flour resulted in puto that was tough and dry. To then substitute the cake flour with something gluten free will defeat its purpose.

I have no experience in gluten free baking and cannot guarantee good results with substitutions, sorry.